United States life tables, 2007.

OBJECTIVES

This report presents complete period life tables by race, Hispanic origin, and sex for the United States based on age-specific death rates in 2007.

METHODS

Data used to prepare the 2007 life tables are 2007 final mortality statistics, July 1, 2007, population estimates based on the 2000 decennial census, and 2007 Medicare data for ages 66-100. The methods used to estimate the life tables for the total, white, and black populations were first used in annual life tables in 2005 and have been in use since that time (1). The methods used to estimate the life tables for the Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black populations were first used to estimate U.S. life tables by Hispanic origin for data year 2006 (2).

RESULTS

In 2007, the overall expectation of life at birth was 77.9 years, representing an increase of 0.2 years from life expectancy in 2006. From 2006 to 2007, life expectancy at birth increased for all groups considered. It increased for males (from 75.1 to 75.4) and females (from 80.2 to 80.4), the white (from 78.2 to 78.4) and black (from 73.2 to 73.6) populations, the Hispanic population (from 80.6 to 80.9), the non-Hispanic white population (from 78.1 to 78.2), and the non-Hispanic black population (from 72.9 to 73.2).